First post ever!! but this one gets me fired up. I can't believe in the current sports environment we are even talking about going to less protection. Let's be honest when talking about what this is really about. As posted earlier, this is about NCAA hockey thinking this will somehow appeal to younger players, and make the guys stick with their tough guy hockey image. All the other reasons that people give are just excuses. Air flow..the feeling on your face..come on. Those little steel bars are not restricting your air flow. I played hockey through college, and the guys who went to halfies during the summer didn't have hard time switching back during season. Sure the first couple of days were weird, but after that you are used to it again. You also enough high level players in the NCAA and other places with fish bowls to know that that there are good ways to keep the fog down.
Most frustrating are some of the safety points they try to make about this. If guys are getting cut under the masks, as stated by McGlaughlin, then they are wearing them like idiots. Concussions should not even be a part of the discussion. That is about the frame of the helmet, and football has shown even that can't keep your head from bouncing off the skull. If anything, having a chin pad keeping you jaw snug would help avoid concussions. Keeping mouthguards around isn't going to fix that either, especially if you see the way those cut up their guards. I am a dentist, and I wish I could say the guards will solve that issue, but they just don't. Sure, people may be a little more careful with their sticks, but that doesn't do anything to stop the puck. Sticks causes cuts and lead to stitches. Pucks do lifetime damage. With halfies, a lot of guys end up wearing them like visors, and that is more dangerous than no shield at all. For them to bring up neck injuries seems a little ridiculous too. Shields don't stop that, rule changes and penalties for boarding does.
If the USHL hasn't had any major injuries yet, they will. Look how close the issue of shields has come to ending a lot careers, Yzerman for example. The NCAA should be smart about protecting these players livliehoods and worry less about being like juniors.
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First post ever!! but this one gets me fired up. I can't believe in the current sports environment we are even talking about going to less protection. Let's be honest when talking about what this is really about. As posted earlier, this is about NCAA hockey thinking this will somehow appeal to younger players, and make the guys stick with their tough guy hockey image. All the other reasons that people give are just excuses. Air flow..the feeling on your face..come on. Those little steel bars are not restricting your air flow. I played hockey through college, and the guys who went to halfies during the summer didn't have hard time switching back during season. Sure the first couple of days were weird, but after that you are used to it again. You also enough high level players in the NCAA and other places with fish bowls to know that that there are good ways to keep the fog down.
Most frustrating are some of the safety points they try to make about this. If guys are getting cut under the masks, as stated by McGlaughlin, then they are wearing them like idiots. Concussions should not even be a part of the discussion. That is about the frame of the helmet, and football has shown even that can't keep your head from bouncing off the skull. If anything, having a chin pad keeping you jaw snug would help avoid concussions. Keeping mouthguards around isn't going to fix that either, especially if you see the way those cut up their guards. I am a dentist, and I wish I could say the guards will solve that issue, but they just don't. Sure, people may be a little more careful with their sticks, but that doesn't do anything to stop the puck. Sticks causes cuts and lead to stitches. Pucks do lifetime damage. With halfies, a lot of guys end up wearing them like visors, and that is more dangerous than no shield at all. For them to bring up neck injuries seems a little ridiculous too. Shields don't stop that, rule changes and penalties for boarding does.
If the USHL hasn't had any major injuries yet, they will. Look how close the issue of shields has come to ending a lot careers, Yzerman for example. The NCAA should be smart about protecting these players livliehoods and worry less about being like juniors.